John donahue



(No Model.)

J. DONAHUE. GOFFIN.

No. 602,393. Patented Apr. 12, 1898.

I I I ||mu fg; a l a 5,- 5 v a t I i s: If 'E "x i 770 VE in Unrrnn STATES PAT NT Brion.

JOHN DONAHUE, OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR,, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE HALL & DONAHUE COFFIN COMPANY, OF

TENNESSEE.

COFFIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 602,3 93, dated April 12, 1898.

Application filed April 8, 1897. Serial No. 631,275. (No model.) I

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHNDONAH E, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coffins; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description'of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use'the same;

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate two forms in which I have contemplated embodying myinvention, and said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the said drawings,Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a coffin constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar view of a slightlymodified form of coffin. Fig. 4 represents the manner of sawing out the bottom and top rim of the coffin-body from a single piece of material. Fig. 5 represents a longitudinal section of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view, on a reduced scale, of the handle shown in Fig. 3.

In making my improved coffin I make the bottom A and rim of the body of the casket of wood and saw or otherwise cut them from a single piece in order to prevent waste.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a piece of wood having the external form of the coffinbody, its external dimensions being those of the rim. I then saw around this piece of wood, the out being in a plane through the board slanting inward from the edge, as shown in Fig. 5, and a distance therefrom equal to the desired width of the rim, thereby producing the bottom A and rim B without any waste of material. It will of course be understood that when the rimB is used in the construction of the coffin it may be with either side of the rim, as it appears in Fig. 5, placed uppermost,so that the opening through the rim may expand or contract from the top downward,as may be desired. One advantage due to having the opening expand downward asa lid to the casket.

and 5.

is that the removed portion may be utilized but it' may be rectangular or of any other desired form without departing from my invention, and the rim and bottom will be sawed out in the same manner in every case.

After preparing the bottom and rim as described the two parts are united preferably by means of vertical inclined braces O C, arranged at suitable intervals,'-thus forming a skeleton body. Around this skeleton bodyI place asheathing D, preferably of metal, although it might be made of wood, veneer, or other suitable material. This sheathing, if of metal, has its edges turned inover the top of the rim B and under the bottom A, and the exteriormay be finished by covering with cloth, or painting, graining, or in any othersuitable manner. Ialso prefer to line the casket-body with the material of which the sheathing is made, preferably metal, as in Fig. 2, in which a lining E of metal is shown, and I also provide a metal covering F for the bottom A, which is soldered or otherwise connected to the inner lining E.

In some instances I may dispense with the inner lining E, as shown in Fig. 3, but in such case I prefer-to use the metal bottom covering F and secure it by solder or otherwise to the exterior metal sheathing D of the casket. The body of the casket will of course be lined 'with' cloth or other fabric to give it a handsome appearance.

In making the cover for the casket I employ a rim G, similar to the rim B, but preferably being of greater width, so as to project beyond the edges of the casket-body and thereby give it a more finished appearance. The rims G for several different-sized caskets can be sawed out of a single piece of wood in a similar manner to that indicated in Figs. t The rim G is then covered with a sheathing H, preferably of metal, which is finished to correspond with the exterior, and I prefer to hinge the top or cover along one side of the same, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, although it may be secured in other ways, if desired.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown one form of I have shown the coffin-body of oval form,

handle which is advantageously used with this casket. I I represent angular straps of metal, which are secured to the bottom A of the casket and extend a distance up the sides.

To the top of each of these straps is hinged an arm K, having an ear is at its outer end and a shoulder or knuckle 712' at its inner end adapted to engage the top of the strap when the arm is lifted a certain distance to limit its upward movement. There may be two or more of these straps and arms on each side of the casket, and they are provided withsuitable handle-bars L, each of which prefer-. ably engages all the ears on one side of the casket, as shown in Fig. 1, although I may use several shorter bars on eachside, if desired.

. In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified form of handle, in which the handle for each side of i thecasket is formed of a single bar of metal? having its ends m bent to pass beneath the? casket, where they are secured in any suit-i able manner, and provided with upwardly-l extending portions m and a horizontal hand portion M. This forms a very cheap handle, 5 and yet it is strong and can be made very at-i tractive in appearance by plating the bar; with silver or other metal. i

If it is desired to have an air-tight connec-; tion between the cover and main body of the. coffin, a strip of rubber may be inserted be-% tween the rim B and rim G, or cement may be employed, if desired.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let-l ters Patent, is-

1. A burial-casket having a bottom andE suitable walls connecting said bottom to ani integral wooden top rim formed by shaping al board to conform to the exterior lines of the casket, and having the central portion of the board removed on lines conforming to the de-, sired interior shape of the casket, the out being in a plane through the board slanting in-E ward, whereby the removed central portion when laid upon the rim portion will com-i pletely close the opening therethrough and, serve as a cover for the casket, substantially, as described.

2. A burial casket having an integral; wooden top rim and a wooden bottom whose external configuration and dimensions con form to the internal configuration and dimensionsof the top rim, and walls connecting the rim and bottom, substantially as described.

3. A coffin comprising among its members the bottom, the integral wooden top rim, a metal sheathing surrounding the edges of the bottom and rim and secured thereto, an inner metal lining upon the bottom, and an inner metal lining to the sheathing secured to the upper surface of, and at a point removed from theedge of the bottom and also secured to the rim, substantially as described.

4. A burial casket having an integral wooden top rim and wooden bottom, sheetmetal sides extending along the outer edge of the rim and the edge of the bottom, and a sheet-metal lining attached to the inner edge of the rim and the upper surface of the bottom at a point removed from the edge thereof, substantially as described.

5. A coffin comprising among its members a'bottom, a rim whose internal configuration and dimensions conform to the size and shape of the bottom, whereby they may be formed from the same piece of material, and sheathing surrounding and directly engaging the edges of the bottom and rim, and verticallydisposed braces secured at their upper ends to the rim and at their lower ends to the bottom, said braces lying within said sheathing, substantially as described.

6. A coffin comprising among its members the bottom, the rim whose internal configuration and dimensions conform to the external configuration and dimensions of the bottom, whereby they may be cut from the same piece of material, vertically-disposed braces connected at their lower ends to said bottom, and at their upper ends to the rim, and sheathing surrounding and directly engaging the edges of the bottom and rim and surrounding said braces, a sheathing upon the upper side of the bottom, and a lining extending around the inner faces of the braces, said lining being secured to the bottom sheathing and to the inner edge of the rim, substantially as described.

.In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature 5 in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN DONAI'IUE. WVitnesses:

J. PARKER, J AS. H. WELoKnn. 

